Boat.



' possible from the view of water-fowl.

. To (I/ZZ'ZUh/OWL' it may concern:

UNITED STATES PATENT f o rrron.

":TVWILLIAM A. RICHARDSON, OF CORSICANA, .T xAs;

BOAT.

Beit known'that I, WILLIAM A. RICHARD soN,a citizen of the United States,-residing atv Corsicana, in .the county of Navarro and State of Texas, have invented new and useful Improvements in Boats, of which the followsimple to make. The boat may carry one or more persons. It may be made from any desirable material and may be propelled in any desirable way, such as by oars or a paddle. r t Inorder to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention,-I will describe in detail a simple form of embodiment of'the invention which is fully illustrated in the drawings accompanying and formin a part of this specification. The novelty of the in vention will be included in the claims succeeding such description.

- Insaid drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan '.view of a boatinvolving my invention, with a portion thereof removed. [Fig 2 is a side elevation'with the intermediate portion of on the line 3 3, Fig. 2.

the boat'removed. -Fig. 3 isa cross-section Fig.4 is a similar view on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2.

Like reference-characters refer to like par ts throughout the several views. I

A boat involving my invention may be of any desirable shape and may be made of any suitable material. The boat is represented as being of double-pointed'form, and it may be made from sheet metal. These features, I

however, are immaterial, the same statement applying also to theway in'which the boat is propelled," for it may be not only driven through the water by hand, but power carried by the boat may be used for suchpurpose. I I

.The boat is represented as composed of .two shells, as 2 and 3, connected-together in such way as to present an air-chamber, as 4.- 1 Inthepresent case this air-chamber is lo- 1 Specification of Letters Patent. --Application filed December 26,1905. Serial No. 293.301.

' able way.

Patented Dec. 25, 1906.

cated between the inner shell 2 and the outer shell 3. As will hereinafter appear, water is admitted into this chamber 4 for the purpose of submerging the boat, and to prevent the water in the air-chamber fromshifting laterally I may employ a partition, as 5, extending longitudinally of the air-chamber and dividing the latterinto two equal compartments. The presence of the partition reduces to the least possible extent the tendency of the boat to tip or rock sidewise when submerged.

.The boat has a cockpit or dry compartment, which may be occupied by one or more persons. The boat represented is intended to be occupied by but one person. Around the entrance of the cockpit is an annular flange 5 about which I prefer to place an air-belt, as 5 of tubular construction, and which may be inexpensively made from metal and fixedly held in place in any suit The boat has an inlet for water opening into the air-chamber thereof, and this inlet may be located atany desirable point-for example, in thebottom, where it is shown in 'the drawings and de'signatedby 6.

This inlet may be valveless or may, as shown, be provided with a valve, as 6 the stem of which is represented as extended upward through the boat and deck thereof and as having at its upper end an operatingpiece,- as 6*, by which said valve may be opened and closed. I

In. addition to the inlet for water the boat has an outlet for air, which outlet in the present case is'presented by the valve-casing 7, fitted into the deck -of the boat. It will be assumed that the air-chamber 4 is filled with air-that is, there is no water therein, the valve'in the casing 7 at this time being closed.

To submerge the boat, the valve in the casing 7 will be opened, thereby permitting. air in the chamber 4 to exhaust into the atmosphere. The valve 6', if closed, will be also opened, and when this takes place water Wlll rush into the air-chamber to cause the submergence of the boat, and when the latter has sunk to the, desired extent the occupant of the boat willclose the two valves. The

boat may, as will be understood, be lowered until its deck is level with or even below the surface of the water.

I provide means for expelling the water from the air-chamber 4 to permit the boat to rise when this becomes necessary, and the ICC -means shown for accomplishing this result i will now be described.

i This nipple constitutes an inlet for air into the chamber 4. To force air into the airchamber 4 to expel the water therefrom, I have shown a pump, as 9, within the cockpit of the boat and which is ordinarily footoperable, although it may be actuated by hand or power. The pump 9 is connected with the nipple 8 in any desirable wayfor example, by the flexible tubing 10. The boat can be at once raised, whensubmerged, by the operation of the pump. When the pump is in action, the valve in the casing 7 at this time being closed and the valve 6", if present, being open, it serves to drive the water from the air-chamber 4 out through the hole 6.

The hole or inlet 6 is made sufliciently large as to secure rapid submergence of the boat when the valve in the casing 7 is opened.

- By the operation of the pump 9 the boat can be as quickly raised. The inlet or hole 6 in the bottom of the boat serves also as a wateroutlet. The air-pressure in the chamber 4 resists the outside pressure acting against the boat, and the same result follows when there is water or water and air in said chamber. By lowering the boat to the requisite extent it will be an easy matter for a sportsman to get within close range of water-fowl.

In connection with the boat I may employ at opposite sides thereof buoyant elements or floats, as 11. When the boat is submerged, these floats dip into the water and hold the boat on an even keel. Their presence is not absolutely necessary, although they are of advantage when the occupant of a boat is of a timid nature. The buoyant elements or floats are shown as arranegd in pairs at opposite sides of the boat, overhang said sides, and may be connected to the boat in any desirable way. They may be of any shape, although a conical form is a satisfactory one. When the boat is submerged its maximum extent, the upper edges of these floats will be slightly above the level of the water. From what has been stated it will be understood that the floats are normally not in the water.

From the valve-casing 7 a tube 7 depends downward into the air-chamber 4, and the lower edge of the tube is situated below the under side of the deck to prevent the level of the water in said air-chamber reaching to the deck. By this means I always retain in the chamber 4 a body of air.

From what has been hereinbefore stated it will be understood that my boat comprises two shells, what may be considered a main shell and an auxiliary shell. The main shell 3 in the present case consists of a hull and a deck over the same, the auxiliary shell 2 extending through said deck and toward the bottom of the hull. The auxiliary shell 2 presents interiorly a cockpit for the occupant or occupants of the boat, and the various valves and pump may be readily controlled by the person or persons within said cockpit. The stem of the valve 6 extends through the deck, and the handle or operating-piece 6 for said valve is within access of the said occupant or occupants, as is the valve-casing 7. The pump 9 is within said cockpit. The air-belt 5 surrounding the upper external portion of the shell or cockpit 2, overlies the deck.

What I claim is 1. A boat comprising a shell composed of a hull and a deck, and a second shell extending through the deck and toward the bottom of the hull, said hull having an opening for the entrance of water and said second shell constituting a cockpit for the boat.

2. A boat comprising a shell composed of a hull and a deck, a second shell extending through the deck toward the bottom of the hull and constituting the cockpit of the boat, a dividing-partition disposed between the deck and bottom of the hull, extending longitudinally of the boat and separating the interior of the boat into two non-communicating chambers.

3. A boat comprising a shell composed of a hull and a deck, a second shell extending through the deck and toward the bottom of the hull, and an air-belt surrounding the upper portion of said second shell and overlying said deck, said second. shell constituting a cockpit for the boat.

4. A boat comprising a shell composed of a hull and a deck, a second shell extending through the deck and. toward the bottom of the hull, an air-belt surrounding the upper portion. of said second shell and overlying the deck, said second shell constituting a cockpit for the boat combined with floats normally outside of the water and extending laterally from opposite sides of the boat.

5. A boat comprising a shell composed of a hull and a deck, a second shell constituting a cockpit and extending through the deck toward the bottom of the hull, a dividingpartition disposed substantially centrally and longitudinally of the first shell within the same and dividing the boat interiorly into non-communicating chambers, an airbelt around the upper portion of the second shell, overlying said deck, and floats normally out of the Water and extending laterally from opposite sides of said first-mentioned shell.

6. A boat comprising a shell composed of a hull and a deck, a second shell extending through the deck and toward the bottom of the hull, said second shell constituting a cockpit for the boat, said first shell having a hole for Water entering into the interior of the boat, and means for exhausting air from such lnterlor to permit water to enter thereinto also iexpelling the Water from said interioriy. I

hullanda deck, a secondlshell extending the hull and constituting a cockpitfor said --.boat, the two shells presenting anair-cham- 1. ber withinthe boat; a valved air-vent in said de,ek,"said hull havinga hole for the entrance 7 ofwater-opening into said air-chamber, and a valve forsai'd hole provided with a stem exthrough the deck and toward the bottom of thehulland'constituting a cockpit for" said boat, the two shells 'pre sentil lg l ir- 7 A boat comprising a shell composed of a through the deck and toward the bottom of tending"'through said deck and having .a

hullfand a deok," as second shell extending her within the boat, a valved air-vent in said deck, saidhull having a hole for the entrance of water opening into said air-chamb er, a valve for said hole provided with a stem extending through said deck and having a handle above the deck, and an air-pump within said second shell provided with a conduit extending threfrom and through the deck to provide for the expulsion of water from said airchamber by the action of said pump.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing wita i a U WILLIAM A; RICHARDSON.

, Witnesses: i

SNOW M. GREENLEE,

' W. J. BROWN. 

